Today at The Gathering we continued with installment six in our series “7 Ways Weird Families Work” with way number five, “Weird Families Work When W.W.O.N.D.A. Reigns.”

The premise today is simply this: there is no winner in a war of words and high emotions. God gave us the ability to talk not in order to be right, but in order to be close.

We talked about the three goals of intelligent talking:
1. To gain perspective from the other person’s point of view.
2. To gain understanding of our own point of view.
3. To gain W.W.O.N.D.A. – win-win or no deal always.

We also talked about the seven insights of an intelligent talker.
Intelligent talkers:
1. Think before they speak.
2. Choose their words wisely.
3. Slow their responses.
4. Temper their tone.
5. Tame their tongue.
6. Love their listeners.
7. Say they’re sorry.

So as of today, we’ve dealt with five of the seven ways that weird families work. As a review, here they are. Weird families work when:
1. There is no them.
2. Love is LOUD.
3. Promises are kept.
4. Closets have no doors.
5. W.W.O.N.D.A. reigns.

If you haven’t signed up to receive the Weird Families series, now would be a good time to take the journey. Another web site that will also help is 31words.com. If you haven’t taken that course, you can sign up today and have it delivered directly to your inbox.

You can use these web sites and online courses to help stimulate your thinking and also to carry on a conversation in your small group or friendship circles. Or even at home around the dinner table.